


Eighty-Six

by LesbianArcher



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Angst, Destroy Ending, F/F, Family, Investigation, Minor Female Shepard/Garrus Vakarian, Post-Mass Effect 3, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-04
Updated: 2018-02-26
Packaged: 2019-02-28 03:47:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13262991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LesbianArcher/pseuds/LesbianArcher
Summary: Eighty-six: as a noun, used in restaurants and bars during the 1930's to that a customer is to be thrown out or not to be served.30 years after the Reaper War, another story begins to emerge on Omega.With a life she's not telling anyone about behind her, Inara Dakar lives on Omega as a simple salesclerk, occasionally making guns from spare parts. A new client shakes her normal life up.Lynae T'Loak is in control of most aspects of her life, thanks to her father's name. A gun maker in a back alley shop helps her discover that sometimes its better to relax.





	1. 01 - Meet Cute with a Pistol

Her hands ached as she assembled cold metal parts together. The cold making the hard edges sting more as they dug into her skin. The satisfying click as all the parts slid into place made her sigh in relief. After hours of working on the old piece of junk, it finally worked.

Her employer’s grunt of acknowledgment was, however, not satisfying.

He looked at what she did, and then shuffled back into the storage room. Moments later, he emerged and set a large crate on the counter next to her. The heavy thud made her head throb and she resisted the urge to groan and collapse onto the counter. If she did that, he’d just give her another crate.

“Now, make another one.” He ordered, then turned and returned to counting his credits.

“You haven’t paid me for this one.” She pointed out. “You said you’d pay me when I completed it.”

The turian scoffed. “You’ll get paid when I say so, human.”

“You said I’d get paid extra upon completion.” She rephrased, trying to drill it into his head that he was going to pay her now.

“Now, I’m saying differently.” The turian, she’d never actually learned his name, declared, not even bothering to face her.

“Then I quit.” She turned back to the pistol, popping several pieces out of place and reversing her work.

“Wait, what?” The clatter of the disassembled pieces got his attention. “You can’t quit.”

“Why not?” She scoffed. “If I don’t get paid it’s not a job.” She leaned over, to grab her bag from under the counter.

The turian grumbled. “Fine. I’ll pay you.”

She replaced the bag under the table and patiently waited for the notification on her Omni-tool to pop up and inform her of the transaction.

“It’s 50 credits less than we agreed.” she pointed out casually, but still beginning to reassemble the pistol. 

Another notification.

“I’ll have another one done within the week.” She said cheerily, hopping up on the counter to sit and sort through the crates to see what she had to work with.

Several hours later the doors slid open—a rare occurrence—and an Asari entered.

“Welcome to Auctus’s Goods!” The turian said cheerily.

Inara gave him a side look, seeing him that happy was unnerving.

The Asari just nodded her head, not verbally acknowledging him. Her skin was more purple than blue, and she didn’t have any face markings. Probably fairly young. Most likely in the mercenary or dancing phase of her life, considering she was on Omega. Mercenary was more likely, based on the armored jacket.

The turian continued to hover over her as the Asari clicked through the catalogue. Inara watched as the Asari stopped scrolling and gave the turian a pointed “fuck off” look. The turian’s mandibles flared in annoyance, but he backed off.

Inara laughed through her nose, then returned her attention to the parts. So far she had most of the parts she needed. She just needed to find a proper barrel and a better grip. Closing her eyes for a moment, she lifted her arms above her head in a stretch. Her back ached and she considered that should probably stop bending over things and fix her posture.

Opening her eyes again she refocused to see that the Asari with as looking at her.

“Are you assembling guns from spare parts?” The Asari sounded skeptical and slightly judgemental.

Inara paused but nodded. “Yeah.” She pushed the finished pistol forwards a bit. “Just finished that one this morning.”

The Asari hummed in acknowledgment. “Sounds more expensive than it's worth.”

Inara felt personally offended. Normally she didn’t give a shit when people insulted the store's products, but this time she had created it from spare parts and considered it to be very personal. She glanced down at the Asari’s waist. A well-maintained carnifex rested there. Newer model too. Inara recognized and ran the numbers in her head.

“Compared to your Carnifex, it has a higher fire rate, but only slightly lower damage rate.” Inara declared. “Also, you aren’t limited by brand mods that you can place on it because I can add anything onto this.”

The Asari looked at Inara, slightly deadpan. “You didn’t strike me as a salesman type of person.”

“I’m not. I usually don’t give a shit, but this is my work and I don’t do shit jobs, even if the job is shit.” Inara declared. “Go on, hold it. Unfortunately, this place doesn’t have a target range for you to test it.”

“Not your usual product?” The Asari inquired, lifting the pistol and testing the weight and fit of it in her hands.

“Nope. Boss learned I was good with weapons and pulled out spare crates of old scrap parts.” Inara shrugged, hitting her knuckles on the crate.

“I’ll take it.” The Asari declared.

Inara’s eyebrow rose. “Just like that?”

“Yes.” the Asari declared. “How much?”

“Hasn’t been priced yet.” Inara shrugged. “You’ll have to ask the turian. He’ll rip you off though. So just haggle it down.”

“Do you get a percentage?” The Asari asked.

“Nah, I’m paid upon completion.” Inara declared. “If I weren’t I wouldn’t have recommended haggling.”

The Asari nodded her head, testing the weight and feel of the pistol as she headed towards the turian.

Inara didn’t pay too much attention to what was said between. She heard the final number. Surprisingly low for her boss. The Asari must have been good at haggling.

Two weeks later Inara was sitting on the counter again when the Asari came by the second time. Inara noted her homemade pistol had replaced the carnifex on her thigh.

“Welcome Auctus’ Goods!” The turian cheerily exclaimed as usual, but he was ignored as the Asari headed towards Inara.

“You said you could mod it?” The Asari patted the pistol on her thigh.

Inara nodded. “Within reasonable expectations, of course.” She didn’t want the Asari to have too high expectations for this.

“I want more thermal clip capacity.” The Asari declared, placing the pistol and the parts to a carnifex brand clip capacity mod.

“AH, she’ll have to be paid.” The turian cut in.

Inara just rolled her eyes. “Private transaction turian, step out. I’m not using your parts on this, and it’ll be on my own time.”

“This isn’t your time.” The turian pointed out.

“I didn’t take my break today.” Inara declared suddenly. “I think I’ll take it now.”

The turian’s mandibles twitched in irritation and Inara could vaguely hear the annoyed sub-vocals as he backed away.

“Anyway,” Inara turned back to the Asari. “Just this mod?”

The Asari nodded.

Inara hummed, then grabbed the pistol and popped some things out of place, shifted other components and then clicked the mod into place. Once she reassembled it, she handed both the mod and the spare parts to the Asari. “Here you go.”

“How much?” The Asari asked right away.

“It took 30 seconds.” Inara shrugged. “I don’t need to be paid.”

“You’re terrible at business.” The Asari sighed.

Inara grinned. “I know.”

The Asari's mouth was pressed into a line, obviously conflicted over not paying.

“I’m not going to ask for a favor in the future or make any attempt to be paid in any way.” Inara declared.

“Why?” The Asari demanded. “Everyone wants something.”

“I just want to sleep, honestly.” Inara shrugged.

The Asari wasn’t satisfied. “I don’t believe you.”

Inara fumbled, “I don’t really know what to tell you… I’m fine with where I am now.”

“You’re fine with it?” She repeated, offended. “No one is just fine on Omega.”

Inara chuckled. “Point taken, but regardless, I just want to keep living a mundane life.”

The Asari grumbled something that didn’t translate and then left.

The third time she saw the Asari, it was walking through the marketplace.

Her blue eyes met Inara’s and then she walked right up to her and declared that she was going to repay Inara.

Which is how Inara ended up sitting across from an intense Asari in a nice little restaurant run by an old human couple.

Inara attempted to order the cheapest thing, but the Asari cut in and ordered for her.

“I don’t have a choice here, do I?” Inara considered out loud.

“No, you don’t.” The Asari declared. She was getting the impression the Asari was accustomed to being the one giving orders.

“What’s your name, anyway?” Inara asked, taking a sip of tea that had just been delivered.

“Lynae.” the Asari smiles. “Yours?” Her eyes flickered over Inara’s hands and then her face.

“Inara.” She introduced, placing both hands on her mug to warm them.

Lynae nodded her head, “So, how’d you learn to assemble guns?”

Inara paused, then laughed and said, “Oh, are we getting to know each other now?”

Lynae frowned, “Fine, don’t tell me.” she leaned back in her seat.

Inara smiled, “My parents taught me.” She declared, renewing Lynae’s interest.

Lynae nodded, “Fair enough. Tense subject?”

“Yeah…” Inara nodded. “They had high expectations for me that I didn’t meet so I decided that instead of living with disappointment at home, I could just do it at Omega.”

“So you decided to work at a terrible store and settle for a mediocre life?” Lynae seemed to have trouble believing her.

Inara chuckled. “Omega houses all types of people.”

“Half of them don’t want to be here.” Lynae declared, stirring her drink some more. Her elbow was propped up on the table, chin resting in her hand.

“And you?” Inara turned it around. “Why are you here?”

Lynae chuckled. “I’m in the category of people who don’t want to leave.”

Inara hummed, “So, why are you so shocked that I would want to stay?”

“It’s not exactly the most human-friendly place.” Lynae pointed out.

“That’s fair.” Inara nodded. “Cerberus fucked this place up badly so they’re within their rights to be cautious of me. Doesn’t mean I won’t defend myself if they attack me though.”

“I take it that has happened before?” Lynae predicted Inara’s answer.

“It’s fairly common.” Inara shrugged. “I usually just pull a pistol or shock them with my Omni-tool.”

Lynae hummed. “How long have you been on Omega?”

Inara considered, “Just over two years now.” She hummed. “You’ve been here your whole life?”

Lynae shrugged her shoulder. “Go between here and the citadel. Dad is here on omega, Mom is on the Citadel.”

“Friendly with both?” Inara moved her tea as the food was placed before her.

Lynae nodded. “You?” she leaned back and let the waiter slid the plate in front of her.

“Haven’t talked to mine since before I got here.” Inara declared. “Never told them I was here, but chances are that they know and they’re just hoping that I’ll get over it and come home. Which may still happen, who knows.” Inara took a small bite.

“What’d they want you to do?” Lynae asked.

“Be like them, essentially.” Inara hummed. “They’re… intense.” She chuckled.

“Intense parents who know how to use guns,” Lynae commented.

“And they raised a not-so-intense child.” Inara sighed, “Who still knows how to use guns of course.”

From there the conversation shifted towards lighter topics.

They parted ways and Inara didn’t expect to see Lynae again. Not that she wouldn’t have been open to the idea, of course.


	2. 02 - A Running Start

Now, when Inara said she would be open to the idea of seeing Lynae again, she hadn’t meant encountering her on the way back home from a run, sweaty and exhausted. 

That morning, Inara hadn’t gotten much sleep. Her neighbor was having some kind of argument that would quiet down at some points, then two minutes later it would escalate again. It was coming from the Salarian’s apartment. For such a timid man, he sure did have a loud voice that could penetrate walls, and also the pillow Inara tried to cover her head with. That was another frustrating thing about Omega. The lack of noise insulation. The Salarian had moved in three weeks ago. Before that, it was a Batarian who would play twenty different versions of the Batarian national anthem on repeat after he learned his neighbor was human. She preferred the Salarian.

She managed to fall asleep, somehow. When she woke up, the ruckus was still going on. Groaning, she checked the time on her Onmi-tool, cringing at the light. It was still early. But, it looked like she wasn’t going to get back to sleep. Which is how she ended up going for a run.

Running through Omega at early morning was an odd experience. She’d usually witness at least one drug deal, a merc fight, and several walks of shame. Even with all these odd events, seeing Lynae leaning against the wall outside of her apartment complex sent out some warning bells. Inara’s first instinct was to turn and come back at a later time, but instead, she slowed to a walk, looking at the asari.

Lynae looked up from her Omni-tool, and Inara swore she saw the surprise on her face. “Hello.” Lynae greeted, her posture straightening slightly.

“Hello,” Inara replied, running a hand through her hair, subconsciously checking for any flyaways or things that were glaring wrong with her appearance. Besides the sweat of course.

“You’ve been busy this morning,” Lynae commented, glancing over Inara’s casual clothes and messy hair.

Inara laughed awkwardly, unsure of how to handle this situation. “I wasn’t expecting to see you in this area.”

Lynae gestured to the apartment building, “Some guy in this apartment building crossed Aria.”

Inara grumbled. “Great.” Another one? That was the third this month.

“Why the interest?” Lynae was suddenly slightly standoffish. Inara realized that Lynae must be in the employ of Aria. This was a connection she would have preferred to avoid.

“I live here,” Inara replied quickly. “If I have to clean blood off of my door again…” She groaned. The last raid, she’d had an abundance of Krogan blood that had dried to her door by the time she’d gotten back from work. Inara had spent roughly 2 hours making sure her door didn’t look like a horror set.

Lynae laughed, gesturing to the apartment complex. “You should probably move. This block doesn’t exactly have a good rep.”

“I know. It scares people when I say I live here.” Inara declared, with a short laugh. “Which is why I like it. No one bothers me…” Inara met Lynae’s eyes. “Usually.” She amended.

“And I’m bothering you?” Lynae challenged, crossing her arms.

“Bothering in the best way possible?” Inara offered, trying to not piss the merc off. She let out a sigh, giving up. “Am I free to go in, or is there a chance I’ll be shot?”

“Chance you’ll be shot,” Lynae said with a shrug, glancing down at her Omni-tool briefly. “He’s running.”

Inara sighed. “It’s the Salarian, isn’t it?” her next door neighbor. Last night, there had been yelling and some sounds of a scuffle in his apartment. It had made getting to sleep harder than usual. 

Lynae nodded. “Yep. Good guess.” She uncrossed her arms, putting some info into her Omni-tool.

“He’s been acting way too shifty, even for Omega.” Inara shrugged.

“Do you often observe your neighbors?” Lynae asked, glancing back up at Inara, interested.

“It’s Omega.” Inara declared, feeling the need to defend herself. “They watch me, I watch them. Sometimes we even try to kill each other.” Maybe some humor would deflect Lynae’s inquiry.

“You’ve tried to kill a neighbor?” 

“Only when they’re trying to kill me. Otherwise, I could care less.” Inara said. “Again, it’s Omega.” It being Omega was as good an excuse as any. Of all the places Inara had been, Omega was there one where the weirdest shit happened.

Lynae shook her head, chuckling at Inara’s reasoning, but not denying it.

The elevator door opened with a ding, dragging their attention away from each other, and two turians and a Batarian walked out, dragging a corpse. They threw it on the ground, some blood spattering. Inara prayed that didn’t mean blood had splattered everywhere inside.

”We’re all good here.” The turian declared, propping his rifle on his shoulder casually.

Lynae knelt down and carefully grabbed a small data chip out of the dead Salarian’s pocket. “Take this to the techs and have them formulate a data summary for Aria.”

They nodded to Lynae and then proceeded towards the elevators, the corpse in town once again.

“Well, you can go check if you had blood on your door now.” Lynae declared, facing Inara.

“Fun.” Inara rolled her eyes.

“Unless you’d prefer to have breakfast,” Lynae added in, a sly smile gracing her lips.

Inara paused, unsure of how to handle it, or even what she wanted to say in return. She was sure of one thing though, “Before I do anything, I would need to shower.” She said apologetically.

“Was that a ‘Please leave me alone’ shower or a ‘wait for me to shower and then we can go’ shower?” Lynae tilted her head and cocked her hip with a flirtatious smile.

Inara had hoped Lynae wouldn’t have picked up on the fact that it wasn’t a clear answer. “It was a ‘wait for me’ shower.” Something in Inara made her say yes. It could have been the fact that Inara hadn’t gone out to do anything fun at all recently. The most fun she’d had in the past two months was skipping three hours of work to go buy a new stove top. “And maybe wait for me to clean blood off my door. It’s harder to clean once it’s dried.”

Lynae laughed. “I’ll be here.”

Inara moved towards the door, then paused. “Wait, you’re just going to stand here until I’m done?”

Lynae nodded, looking back at her Omni-tool.

Inara sighed. “That’s creepy.” She declared. “Come on.” She pressed her Omni-tool to the door’s lock pad and it unlatched.

“You’re inviting me up to your room?” Lynae said, amused.

“Don’t make a big deal of it. You’d just draw attention loitering outside.” Inara sighed. People standing outside of an apartment building usually meant trouble. Lynae followed Inara into the elevator, both feeling a little awkward.

On the top floor, Inara headed down the hall to her room. “Here we are.”

“No blood,” Lynae commented on the state of the door with a chuckle.

“Thank God.” Inara sighed. The door opened and they stepped into the apartment.

Lynae didn’t know what to expect as they entered the apartment. Most places on Omega are a mixing pot of various furniture and decorations. It was rare to see a clean and organized place.

Inara’s place fell into the clean category. The apartment opened up to a small seating area with an L-couch in the corner. A steel table was littered with various mugs and data pads, along with some gun parts. Beyond the couch was a door to what Lynae assumed to be the bed and bathroom. To the left of the door, a small kitchen.

“This is.. surprisingly clean,” Lynae noted. “There’s no grime on the walls at least.”

“Ah, yes.” Inara nodded. “I made sure the apartment was grime free and as clean as I could get it in the first week.”

“Not used to things being messy?” Lynae asked.

“Mess is fine.” Inara declared, gesturing to the pads and mugs on the table. “Massive amounts of dirt coating the walls is not.” After she said that Inara began grabbing the data pads and stacking them, suddenly self-conscious of the mess.

“I’ll be out in under a half hour,” Inara promised.

“Don’t rush.” Lynae settled on the couch. “You have a nice couch.”

Inara laughed. “It’s the one thing in this apartment that I actually like.”

“With good reason.” Lynae nodded. “Don’t worry about me. I can amuse myself well enough.”

Inara paused. “I feel like this should go without saying, but I will know if you look through anything.” She declared. “So, please don’t.”

Lynae lifted her hands, “I won’t touch a thing.” she smiled roguishly.

Inara smiled back and then disappeared into her room. A minute later, the shower started. 


	3. 03 - Fatherly Concern

Lynae lounged on Inara’s couch, scrolling through various messages she’d received throughout last night, and this morning. She logged status reports in and sent out inquiries as to inventory and personnel counts.

The raid this morning had been in response to some activist groups. It wasn’t the content of the group that Aria had a problem with. She didn’t much care for what people did or preached, so long as it didn’t involve her. Unfortunately for them, this activist group had crossed Aria personally. They had been preaching against humans, and against Aria’s tolerance of them on Omega. You weren’t prohibited from talking shit on Omega. Monitoring that would be impossible. So, it was only when that talking caused one of Aria’s agents, a human, to go missing that it became a problem. A problem that was swiftly dealt with.

Amidst all the reports and official business that was in her inbox, one message came up from her father. Lynae almost didn’t want to open it, but knew she had to.

> AT > A human?

Of course she’d know already, Lynae sighed breathily, typing her response.

> LT > Yes.

She hit send more forcefully than she’d cared to admit. Lynae took a breath to calm her reactions, and the reply came quickly.

> AT > She doesn’t have a past.

Attached were the results of several searches. Lynae sighed, of course her father had already had multiple background checks done. Each of the searches came up with very little information.

> LT > According to her, she’s avoiding intense parents.
> 
> AT > You believe her?

Lynae paused, considering her response.    

> LT > She’s extremely average. She doesn’t even know who I am.
> 
> AT > Are you sure?
> 
> LT > Yes. She’s mentioned you a few times in passing. People don’t mention you around me unless they’re vying for a favor. She ‘doesn’t want to fuck with you.’ Her words.
> 
> AT > Then she shouldn’t fuck with you.
> 
> LT > I’m the one who asked her out.

Lynae waited for a response for a few moments and then decided that her father was done talking. The moment she closed her Omni-tool, another notification popped up. Lynae sighed deeply.

> AT > Be careful.
> 
> LT > Always.

Lynae smiled. Her father could be overbearing and overprotective at times, but it came from a place of love. She knew there was a reason behind her father’s actions as well. She’d heard her mother talk about Liselle. Lynae had never met her, but Liselle had been her older sister, only with Aria as her mother instead.

Liselle had been killed after becoming involved with a human. The details were left out, most likely because her father didn’t want to relive those moments. All Lynae knew is that it had something to do with an organization called Cerberus, which had long since crumbled. 

Lynae guesses that her father was desperate to not make the same mistake again.

Lynae closed the Omni-tool, pushing her family from her mind, and looked around the apartment again. Her mind worked over the details to determine what kind of person Inara was.

There weren’t any photos lying around of family, probably due to the fact that Inara wanted to get away from them.

Though an interesting aspect Lynae did notice was the turian influence on the design of the room, and even some turian text on the datapads. Either Inara didn’t live alone or she could read turian. An odd ability for a human. Most simply relied on the translators to do the work for them. Though after the Reaper War, the animosity between the two had lessened considerably, there was still tension. Then again, it could be because of that tension that Inara wanted the ability to read turian without a translator.

Her Omni-tool beeped again.

> TT > Your father just messaged me worried.
> 
> LT > Everything is fine. She’s just paranoid.
> 
> TT > Tell me about this girl?

Lynae paused, then pulled the words together.

> LT > She’s relaxed. People don’t bother her. She’s content to go about her own life without worrying. Not much ambition. Parents had too high expectations for her that she couldn’t meet, so she decided to find her own path. Kind. Generous. Didn’t make me pay for installing a mod when she was well within her rights to. I insisted I pay, but she wouldn’t accept anything. So I bought her dinner instead. Doesn’t know I’m Aria’s daughter so she doesn’t treat me differently.

Lynae shut off her Omni-tool, slightly embarrassed she had sent that.

> TT > She sounds lovely. What’s her name?
> 
> LT > Inara
> 
> TT > Good luck. Be patient with your Father. She’s just worried about you.
> 
> LT > I know. I’ll do my best.

Lynae closed her Omni-tool again, taking more time now to analyzing the room, now feeling better about being here.

Leaning over the pads, Lynae was true to her word and didn’t touch anything. With her translator, it seemed that it was just some light reading material, as well as some information from her work. Nothing incriminating, thankfully.

The shower switched off and Lynae sat back on the couch quickly, looking over her Omni-tool casually.

The quick reaction wasn’t needed because it was five more minutes until Inara emerged from her room.

She had dressed in casual clothing pants, a tank top, and a heavier jacket tied around her waist. “Alright.” Inara smiled. “You ready?” Her hair was still damp but was tucked behind her ears. Lynae had never touched human hair, but she internally admitted to being curious about Inara’s hair felt like.

Lynae nodded, clearing her throat and standing up. “Shall we?” Lynae held a hand out towards the door, offering to let Inara go first.

“We shall.” Inara chuckled, opening the door up and waiting for Lynae to exit as well before closing it and locking it with her Omni-tool. “So, did you have an idea of where you wanted to get breakfast?”

Lynae nodded. “There’s a nice cafe, near Auctus’s Goods, but far enough that no one will try to mug us when we walk out.”

“That’s an advantage.” Inara agreed. Auctus’s wasn’t exactly the best place to work, but it paid the bills and Inara didn’t mind it.

The walk to the cafe was quiet at first, both of them more interested in the scenery of Omega than conversation.

“You work today?” Lynae started the conversation back up.

Inara nodded, then glanced at the time on her Omni-tool. “Unfortunately. My shift starts in two hours.”

Lynae hummed. “More pistol crafting?” she smiled.

Inara nodded, sighing. “Not like there’s much else to do. Not many people come into the shop.” there was a pause. “Why did you come into the shop?”

Lynae’s lips twisted up, “I was picking some information up. Auctus does mostly backdoor deals.” she said it hesitant, unsure if Inara was aware.

Inara laughed. “Yeah, I figured. There was no way he could keep that place afloat with the income he has up front. I’m the grunt employee he has so he can claim that he has a legitimate business with employees and all that.”

Lynae grinned, she was liking Inara more and more.

The cafe wasn’t too busy, just busy enough to create a classic cafe ambiance. Lynae headed for a table at the back of the cafe. Out of instinct, she’d headed for the table that had the most cover in case of an attack.

Upon sitting down, Lynae spoke up, “This is the only place on Omega where I've heard humans say that the… hot chocolate, I think, tastes as good as it does on Earth.”

Inara laughed. “Who owns this place?”

“Surprisingly enough, a Turian,” Lynae said. “She has a human partner who helps out.”

“Someone to make things for both digestive systems, smart.” Inara agreed. “They ever get any assholes complaining about humans and turians?”

Lynae shrugged, “One or two that I've seen. Their patrons tend to be loyal and will beat them up. A Batarian once lost two eyes after insulting them.”

Inara snorted and nodded her head in approval. “Sounds like my kind of place.”

“Not fond of Batarians?” Lynae asked.

“Something like that, parents weren't exactly on friendly terms with any. They got into more than a couple fights with Batarians.” Inara explained.

“You weren't kidding when you said your parents were intense,” Lynae said.

Inara laughed, “No. No, I wasn't. They’ve gotten into a lot of fights with a lot of people.”

“That why you left?”

“Partially. I got tired of being associated with them, so I left.” Inara shrugged.

“What about your name?” Lynae asked.

“Changed my last name,” Inara said easily. “Without the last name, no one connects anything.”

“Just like that?”

“It’s Omega.” Inara laughed. “There are a hundred ways to change your name.”

“Most of them leave a trail though, you worried about that?” Lynae pointed out.

Inara grinned. “Luckily for me, I’m also good at not leaving a trail.” The tone indicated a growing discomfort of this topic.

Lynae picked up easily on the dismissal of the topic and proceeded to drive the conversation in a different direction. “So, you ever think about making more guns?” Whoever said you couldn’t mix business and pleasure?

Inara laughed, “One pistol not good enough for you?”

Lynae grinned roguishly, “I’m hard to satisfy.”

The pair continued their breakfast pleasantly, Lynae arranging to have another custom pistol built, and Inara agreeing to meet again for breakfast sometime.

A small ping was the only thing to interrupt them.

Inara looked down, “Well, looks like it’s time for me to get to work.”

“I’ll message you the specs,” Lynae said, referring to the pistols. “I’m looking forward to seeing what you can do.”

Inara smiled, “I hope I don’t disappoint.”

Lynae watched as Inara left, a smile on her lips. Inara was interesting. Lynae could deny that she was interested in the human. She wasn’t sure what kind of interest it was though. Lynae knew what her biggest weakness was when it came to dating, she’d never really done it before. Her father usually scared everyone off before she could do anything.

Now, that isn’t to say that Lynae had never had sex. There was plenty of that in her life. She’d never been in a proper relationship. Even when visiting her mother on the citadel, it seemed that she could never find one person who she wanted to stick by, or that wanted to stick by her.

Omega wasn’t the best place to find a wholesome life partner. Of course, in Lynae's line of work, wholesome may not be a good thing. 

That’s what attracted Lynae to Inara. Inara didn’t seem to care much about the politics of the area. She just did her own thing and breezed on by. Lynae envied that. After years of being in the middle of everything, it was nice to be around someone who was calm.

Walking into Afterlife was the opposite of calm. Even in the morning, there was somebody there partying. On a Space Station, morning lost its meaning. Things always looked the same.

Dodging around a group of low-level drunk mercs, Lynae made her way up towards Aria’s couch. Nodding to the guards there who let her through without any fuss.

Aria sat on her couch, as usual, reading some things on her Omni-tool.

“How was your date?” Aria didn’t waste any time.

“It wasn’t a date.” Lynae sighed. “We’re not dating.” she sat on the couch, pulling her own Omni-tool up.

Aria hummed. “Well, then how was your friend breakfast?” Lynae closed her Omni-tool, seeing that her father would not be letting this go.

“It was good,” Lynae admitted. “She’s fun.”

“Fun?” Aria repeated with a smirk on her lips.

“Dad, no.” Lynae sighed. “There was nothing sexual about it.” Shockingly.

Aria chuckled. “So, why do you think she doesn’t have a past?” She asked casually.

“She told me, actually.” Lynae declared. “She created a new life for herself. She’s proficient with tech. Apparently, Omega is full of ways to create a new identity.” Lynae said the last part dramatically. “Honestly, Dad, with where we live it’s not surprising that people are sketchy.” Lynae paused. “I’m not complaining. Just pointing it out.”

“All the more reason to be more careful.” Aria declared.

“Yes, dad,” Lynae said it almost teasingly, but Aria knew that Lynae was listening to her warnings.

“Just don’t go missing on me,” Aria said, softer than she usually speaks. The softness surprised Lynae. Normally her father was only soft whenever mom was around.

“You’ve mentioned that before…” Lynae asked. “What makes you worried about that?”

Aria sighed. “I know a couple that it happened to. Kid just snapped one day. Parents didn’t see it coming. Disappeared the next day after a huge fight. They have some of the best resources, and they can’t find her.”

“Do you think she’s dead?” Lynae asked.

Aria chuckled. “No way in hell. Not if the girl is anything like her mother. The damn woman doesn’t die no matter what she goes through.”

“I hope they find her.” Lynae declared. “But don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere. Inara isn’t the reckless type. She prefers to lay low and not get involved in things. Most people on Omega are always looking for a fight.”

Aria shrugged. “So long as she’s not hiding anything.”

“Speaking of hiding things, I heard from Grim you have a mission for me?” Lynae changed the subject.

Aria grabbed one of the datapads sitting next to her and tossed it. “I need you to pick up our cut of an eezo sell from Eclipse. Take your squad. Eclipse has been restless recently.”


	4. Mission Impossible

Inara stretched out on her bed, scrolling through messages from her boss on her Omni-tool. Work had been a chore this morning, and now she had a myriad of messages with requests and subtle hints of her boss trying to decrease her pay, but increase her hours. He must be having some trouble with his contacts and funding. The store was just a front, after all. Inara felt conflicted for a few moments about hoping that he would stabilize and everything would calm down.

She grew up on the right side of the law. Everyone in her family was involved in some kind of law enforcement. She grew up infused with strong morals and ideals. She was taught… Well, it wasn’t much use to mourn it now. She wasn’t on The Citadel or Earth. She is on Omega. Those morals didn’t matter much anymore.

She glanced at the time absent-mindedly as she considered her moral obligations to the world. The methodically flashing time reminded her briefly of how the world kept going on around her and she was just sitting still. That thought along with the fact that it was almost 2 am was enough of an indicator that she needed to sleep.

As she deactivated her Omni-tool she pulled a loose pair of yoga pants from the drawer and was about to start changing when the doorbell echoed in the apartment.

The adrenaline that surged through her body immediately woke her up. It was 2 am. There was no reason for anyone to be knocking on her door.

Which pistol is closest? Bedside table.

Moving with purpose, she made her way over to the table and grabbed the pistol. The heaviness and chill of the metal that bit into her hand were the qualities that made it comforting. A cold comfort. Kneeling and shielding herself with the bed, she checked the ammo. It was fully loaded. She grabbed an extra clip, it always paid off to be prepared. With renewed confidence, Inara moved through her home slowly.

Her room was oriented strategically, a habit from her parents that had rubbed off on her. In between the door and her bedroom was the thick couch, the coffee table, and the dining table. She’d gotten each of them because they could take several rounds of an assault rifle and not break. They weren’t hard to find on Omega.

Moving from cover to cover, she reached the door and placed herself off to the side, so when the door opened she would not be seen immediately, which gave her the advantage over any attackers.

She slowly reached and activated the voice link. “Who is it?”

There was a shaky breath as whoever it was composed themselves. “It’s Lynae.”

Inara paused. “Lynae?” There was a moment of disbelief as Inara considered the voice. She’d never heard Lynae so out of it, which meant that something must be going on.

Lynae did work for Aria, so something must have gone down. The question is what happened, and why did she come here?

“Are you okay?” Inara’s question was soft and unsure. She didn’t want to get involved with Aria, that was bad news. On the other hand, Lynae had become her friend.

A breathy laugh. “Yeah… I just… needed to get out somewhere.”

Inara paused, considering, and then lowered her pistol. She unlocked the door, still leaning on the wall. No gunshots. So it still wasn’t a trap.

Leaning forward, Inara saw Lynae standing with her hands shoved deep into her pockets and her face looking down. The dim and dingy lights in the hallway didn’t show much of anything, but there were a few glints of blue and red here and there. Several kinds of blood.

That meant it probably did have something to do with her job. Or Lynae got jumped.

“Come in.” Inara urged her in, eager to get the door closed.

Lynae stepped in, and the apartment lights showed more of the state Lynae was in. The door closed shut with a hiss, masking Inara’s sympathetic sigh.

She wasn’t dirty. She was just… banged up. Her armor had dents and burns scattered over it, and by the lack of polish, they were fresh. Lynae held her helmet down at her side. The visor was shattered, and the side plate was gone, sheared off judging by the metal and cracked paint. Whoever she got in a fight with had some major weaponry.

“Want a change of clothes and a shower?” Inara didn’t know what else to say.

There was a pause as Lynae swallowed and looked around, her eyes glazed over for a few moments before they adjusted and Lynae came back from wherever her head had just taken her.

“Yeah.”

“Alright. Go ahead and sit down. I’ll get you some water.”

As Inara moved towards the kitchen, Lynae stopped her, voice shaking. “Wait… Can you just… sit with me?”

Inara nodded, and the two settled on the couch side by side. Inara relaxed into the couch while Lynae sat stiffly for a few minutes.

Silence blanketed the apartment for that time, save for the steady buzz of life that always covered Omega. Unless you had major credits, you’d always be able to hear your neighbors or the drunk yelling down the street.

“I lost my team.” Lynae’s voice startled Inara, who leaned forward to show she was paying attention.

“We were supposed to pick up a shipment, but it was an ambush.”

Inara just listened. Lynae would go at her own pace, there was no need to rush her. They had all night.

“We didn’t have time to regroup. I had the choice between waiting and trying to get some of them out, or saving my own skin. And I saved myself.” There was a shudder in her voice that made chills run through Inara. “What kind of leader does that? I’m supposed to lead them to victory, and I failed and got them killed.”

Inara placed her hand on Lynae’s arm. She should try to comfort her. How? Alright. Think about what Mom would say. “Leadership is a burden. It’s something that not everyone is cut out for.” She felt the words coming more easily than she expected.

Lynae brought her hand up to cover her face, taking her arm from Inara’s grasp. Shit. She didn’t mean to imply that Lynae shouldn’t be a leader.

“A leader... knows when they’re defeated.” Inara continued, biting her lip. Should she even continue? What if she upset Lynae even more? “They know when to leave when to hide, and when to fight. It’s a burden that you can never be really prepared for. Losing people is… inevitable. No matter how good you are. The only thing you can do is stop, take a breath, carry on, and then swear to do better next time.” She felt herself starting to tear up as well. “At least, that's what my mom tells me.” She laughed, but there was no real emotion behind it.

Lynae sniffed, and then looked at Inara. “Your mother sounds smart.” She said with a soft laugh through tears. It was the laugh you do when you’ve just had a breakdown and you’re trying to pretend everything is okay.

Inara laughed for real this time, though the hints of pain came through as well. “Yeah. She is. She’s…” Inara took a breath as she tried to find the words. “She’s amazing. She never gives up, and she always finds a way to make it work.”

“So, why’d you leave?” Lynae twisted her body to face Inara more. Yeah, Lynae was deflecting the conversation, but Inara let it happen.

Inara sighed, considering. “I guess it was in part because of that. Her expectations were based on her own life. But she is… larger than life. I look up at her and I wonder how anyone could do what she’s done. I look at my father and brothers, and I can’t help but think the same thing. I’m the youngest in the family. My brothers are two years apart, and then I’m 8 and 10 years behind them.” She laughed gently.

“Sounds tough,” Lynae commented.

“That’s probably why I always felt so inadequate all the time.” Inara continued. “They would all be off doing their grown-up thing, and I was stuck behind, watching. So, when I failed an exam that they had both my brothers had gotten perfect scores on their first try, everyone was disappointed in me. I was disappointed in me too. I got into a fight with my mom and the shouting brought my dad and brothers into it as well. Four against one isn’t exactly good odds.” She chuckled. “So, I gave in and just let them win the fight. I went back to my room, set it up to look like I had gone out early in the morning to train and let off steam. Of course, I knew enough about faking identities and such to be able to fall off the grid while I bounced around the place. Ended up here.” Inara shrugged.

Lynae spoke slowly, working things through in her head, “Is Inara your real name?”

“It is now.” Inara shrugged. “I’ve had it longer than any other.”

Lynae hummed in thought. She wondered who Inara was before. Had she changed at all? Lynae knew better than to ask. It didn’t matter anymore anyway. Inara ran away for a reason. She wasn’t that person now.

The two sat together in silence, just watching the other. They both took comfort in the other. Lynae took comfort in the rebellion, in the idea of breaking free. Inara took comfort in the stability.

Lynae broke the silence with an unsteady question, “Can I kiss you?”

Inara held the breath she took, then slowly let it out and nodded. “I’d like that,” she whispered in return, nerves kicking in.

Lynae and Inara slowly moved towards each other, their lips brushing softly. Lynae leaned in just enough for their lips to properly meet.

It was a simple kiss. Just lips pressing against lips, no movement or anything else. Lynae’s hands moved along Inara’s arms as they pulled each other closer.

Their lips parted after a few short moments, foreheads resting together, and looked at each other.

Seconds later, they were joined again. The kiss was different this time. Not as hesitant and testing, it was more bold and confident from both of them.

They parted, both staring at each other nervously, then Inara smiled and laughed.

Her smile was contagious, and Lynae thought at that moment she wouldn’t mind seeing that smile more often.

“Mind if I impose on you for the night?” Lynae asked softly, the exhaustion settling upon her.

“Not at all.”

* * *

Lynae woke up, feeling exhausted. She rolled over and heard the background noise from the street down below. For a few moments, she forgot where she was and adrenaline rushed her body. With a thick sigh of relief and brief annoyance at herself for forgetting, she recognized the sleeping figure beside her. Thankful that her movements had not woken Inara, Lynae smiled, moving in closer to seeking warmth. Inara hummed sleepily, not consciously acknowledging a change, and accepted the movement, pulling Lynae closer and rested her head next to hers.

The morning after turned into the afternoon after as the couple slept in continuously, each time one woke, they returned to sleep so that the other would not be woken up.

Once, when Lynae was awake, she groggily checked her Omni-tool.

Several unopened messages from her father—all tagged as urgent—waited for her. Lynae wanted to procrastinate more. She wanted to deactivate her tool and to go back to sleep. Thinking of her father’s anxiety and anger stopped her.

Opening the messages, Lynae braced herself for the content.

   AT > Where are you?

   AT > Mission status?

   AT > I need an update

   AT > Where are you

   AT > I’m tracking your Omni-tool.

   AT > The human’s house?

   AT > Next time report back first.

   AT > I’ll be waiting for your report. I need to know what happened.

Lynae sighed, and then drafted a response.

   LT > There was an ambush when we arrived to pick the shipment up. The squad was separated by rounds of sniper and grenade fire. I was presented with a choice, try and regroup, which would most likely lead to more casualties, or take those I still had with me and retreat. I chose the second option. A secondary ambush was waiting for us at the exit to the facility. I lost the rest of the squad there. I didn’t have the energy to return home and Inara’s home was closer. She allowed me to stay there for the night.

The noises from the Omni-tool had woken Inara up as well, who was now rolling deeper into the blankets.

“I need to go,” Lynae said softly to Inara.

The human just grumbled something and remained still.

Lynae was about to repeat herself when Inara stretched suddenly and sat up quickly. Her hair was a mess, to say the least. Lynae found human hair odd, as it was one of the only species to have such a thing. Inara ran a hand through it as she yawned, which did little to calm the pieces that were sticking up. Lynae wasn’t sure if she was supposed to find it cute or not. She had to admit, seeing Inara disheveled like that was rather amusing. Normally the human’s hair was kept in a neat bun behind her head, which made the sight of the red hair down even odder.

“You’re staring at me.” Inara drawled as she rubbed her eyes.

“Your hair is odd.” Lynae declared. “Hair is odd in general.”

Inara let out a sudden snort, which she covered up quickly and then continued to laugh. “Is it now?” She looked at Lynae, still stifling her giggles.

“Yes,” Lynae affirmed strongly. “It is.”

Inara regained her composure and just smiled. “I’m guessing my bed-head is bad?”

“Bed-head?” Lynae repeated. “What is that?”

“When humans wake up their hair usually looks a mess, which is referred to as bedhead.”

Lynae hummed. “Interesting.”

Inara laughed. “Don’t let my hair distract you from leaving.”

Lynae jerked back to reality. Right.

She had to go face Dad.


End file.
